Only Hope
by bellachaos
Summary: More than anything else, Harry Potter has always wanted a family. Now, during his final year at Hogwarts, he just might get his wish. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived and future Head Boy of Hogwarts, was brooding. Or to precise, was brooding more than usual. Ever since his disastrous fourth year and the rebirth of evil Lord Voldemort, Harry had worried over events in the wizarding world. He was, after all, the Chosen One. At least in the eyes of British witches and wizards. In his short seventeen years Harry had faced off against Voldemort and his many incarnations, each time miraculously surviving. It was expected of him to finish the job. A heavy weight for the boy to bear, but surprisingly enough, not what was weighing him down. As the summer months came to a close and he prepared to enter Hogwarts hallowed halls for the last time he instead dwelt on his own mortality.

As he packed his school trunk he came across a letter from Ron. It had arrived the day after his booklist and badge. In it was a slight reprieve from the loneliness of his thoughts.

_Harry,_

_Hope the muggles are treating you well. Mum's still trying to convince Dumbledore to let you spend the rest of the holiday at the Burrow so keep your fingers crossed. Hermione's already here. I don't know how much more time I can spend with her before I go barking mad. When she isn't going on about how fascinating ancient Greek wizarding ruins are she's worrying about you. If for no other reason than to keep her quiet, I hope you come to stay. Seriously though, we do miss you. _

_Have you got your letter yet? Ours came yesterday. Hermione made Head Girl (of course) and Ginny managed to pass all her O.W.L.s. Between the two of them there was enough jumping and screaming to scare all the gnomes out of the garden. I saw em' sneaking back in last night though. I made Quidditch captain, but handled the situation with manly dignity. Are you angry? You've been on the team twice as long as anyone else. We could be co-captains of something if that makes you happy. Let me know ok? Do you know who made Head Boy? It wasn't me, but as long as it's not Malfoy I'll be happy. Could you imagine that ferret in charge of the students? Or worse, sharing a common room with Hermione?_

_Just in case Mum can't swing anything. Do you want to meet up in Diagon Alley the day before the train leaves to get supplies? There's a new strategy book out by the Cannons coach that I want to look at. We can buy our books while we're there and then spend the night at the Leaky Cauldron. Run it by the muggles and see if it's ok. If not just threaten to hex them or something. _

_Your mate,_

_Ron_

Smiling, Harry folded the letter and placed it on top of the others he had received that summer. Living with the Dursleys had been nearly unbearable. Although he had been of age for almost a month, Dumbledore insisted that he stay with his Aunt and Uncle for the entire summer. As it was the last time he would be able to reap the protections of his mother's gift, the headmaster wanted it to be as strong as possible. Harry's time out of school had been spent working in the yard, and hiding in his room. Uncle Vernon seemed intent on squeezing every last bit of free labor from the boy before being rid of him. Even after Harry came of age and was allowed to perform magic outside of school his situation didn't change, if anything, the young man became even more despised by his relatives on Privet Drive. When he wasn't outside, Harry stayed in his room. Reading books on defense against the dark arts, corresponding with Ron and Hermione, and thinking about what the world would be like after he left it.

It hadn't been a pleasant holiday.


	2. Chapter 2

"Boy! Get down here. " bellowed Uncle Vernon from the sitting room. It was a couple of minutes till nine on Harry's last day with the Dursleys. A lanky young man appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a wand in his right hand.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?"

"How many times have I told you to keep that thing hidden! I won't have you parading your unnaturalness about our home for anyone to see. That _thing_ stay upstairs at all times. Understand"

Hiding a smirk, and slipping his wand into his back pocket the boy nodded.

"Was there anything else you wanted to tell me? I need to finish packing for school." Harry had crammed the last of his belongings into his trunk before coming downstairs, but thought it made a convenient excuse to leave Vernon's presence.

"Make sure you don't leave anything behind. Can't have you traipsing about our house looking for things just because you were too careless to remember them. In fact, anything you leave behind will be burned. We won't stuff up our basement with your kind's rubbish."

Harry had stopped listening soon after his Uncle began speaking and was caught off guard when Vernon stopped talking.

"Well boy, get up there and finish your packing. Can't have those kind at the house all day just because you were to lazy to get your things together at the proper time. They will be on time this year? Petunia is having her society over for tea and we don't want you here when they arrive."

"Actually I'll be leaving by myself." At the look of surprise on the large man's face Harry decided to give a parting shot. "You see, when a wizard turns seventeen they are of age in the _magical _ world and as such are allowed to use _magic_ outside of _Hogwarts_ . I haven't yet passed my _apparition_ test-"

"Will you shut up! While under this roof, any talk of those _things_ is strictly forbidden. Get out! I want you gone within the hour!"

This time, the boy didn't even try to hide his smirk.

"Fine by me" he responded as he turned to ascend the stairs. It wasn't much, but after sixteen years of repression and neglect, it would have to do.

Harry settled on his bed to wait for the temporary floo connection to open. He was set to leave at 9:30 sharp and had only to keep himself occupied for thirty minutes or so. Taking a small parcel from his pocket, he reversed the shrinking charm on it and opened the cover. It was the album Hagrid gave him during his first year. After the death of his godfather, Sirius, Harry had taken to carrying the book with him. So few knew Sirius' real story, Harry wanted to make sure he never forgot. The death of his godfather haunted Harry in more ways than one. Piled on top of the grief and guilt that Harry felt for was fear. Fear that he would end up like his godfather. The last of his line, with no to remember the man behind the stories and the scandal. Sirius' death had marked the end of the house of Black, Harry didn't want the same to happen to his family.

Glancing up from the pages of his scrapbook, Harry realized it was nearly time to go. Casting a quick levitation charm on his trunk he picked up Hedwig's empty cage and gave the room a final sweep with his emerald eyes. Closing the door behind him he went downstairs.

Mumbling a "Thanks" to his Aunt and Uncle (Dudley was having "tea" with a member of his gang) Harry quickly produced a fire with his wand. Throwing the contents of a small packet into the flames he shouted "The Leaky Cauldron!" and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to Jasperite my first reviewer!

A rather painful sounding crash heralded the arrival of Harry Potter in the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace. He searched the pub for any sign of his friends while trying to brush the soot off his clothes. Seemingly out of nowhere, something small and soft landed in his side. Recognizing the bushy, brown curls belonging to his best friend Hermione Granger, he wrapped his arms around her returning the hug.

"Harry! It's so good to finally see you. How was your summer? Of course, your summer was probably awful, but how are you holding up? Did you finish all of you essays? Ron hasn't so he is finishing it tonight, but you have right? Really, as Head Boy you should have done them weeks ago. Oh! Congratulations on making Head Boy? Aren't you exci—"

"Hermione, maybe if you let go of him he could answer your questions." Clapping Harry warmly on the back, Harry's other best friend muttered, "Turning into a miniature version of my Mum, that one is." Unfortunately for him, the subject of Ron Weasley's comment overheard the remark and rewarded him with a smack on arm.

"Honestly Ron, we haven't seen Harry since term let out. If the best you can do is crack jokes then maybe you should let me do the talking"

"But Herms, you were doing all the talking. The poor boy couldn't get a word in edgewise"

The poor boy in question had now disentangled himself from Hermione's grasp and watched the pair argue with a bemused expression on his face. Deciding the three of them had stood there long enough he put an end to dispute.

"Um guys… I'm gonna put my things upstairs and then we can go the Diagon Alley and get our shopping done. Ok?"

Soon after Harry's things had been settled in the room Harry was to share with Ron that night, the three teens entered the magical shopping district.

"Do you boys want to go on ahead to the Quidditch supply store? There are several new volumes out that I wanted to look at and I know how bored you lot get around books. "

"Actually," Harry responded, "we should probably stay together. With everything going on right now wandering about alone probably isn't the safest bet. Besides, I think Ron wanted the new Cannons strategy book"

"Good call mate, I almost forget. How bout we walk around for bit and get the rest of our shopping done. We can hit the bookstore after lunch and that way we don't have to drag about a bunch of heavy parcels."

Several hours later, the three friends sat laughing at a booth in front of Florean Fortesque's. They had already purchased new robes, quills, potions supplies, and parchment and had lingered in Quality Quidditch Supplies to look over the new merchandise. After walking over to the bookstore, Hermione made a beeline for a rack of out-of-print spell books, Ron disappeared into the sports section and Harry was left to wander around on his own.

Coming upon a row of books on magical geneology, he pulled one of the shelf and settled in a nearby armchair to look through it. The book contained a family tree and brief history for over sixty British magical families. Looking up the families of his friends and classmates unearthed a wealth of information. Harry looked forward to telling Lavender about a great-great aunt she had who was famous for charming herself hideous and then frightening the children in her village. His air of good humor quickly vanished when came across the Potter page. House Potter, much like the House of Black, was slowly dying. Harry had always know that he was an orphan, but looking at the words written on the yellowed page it sunk in that he was the last of his line. After him, there would be no more Potters in the wizarding world. Like his godfather before him, Harry's death would mark the end of a once great House.

Harry knew the reality of his situation. Odds were against him living to see twenty. A huge task had been laid at his feet and the fate of the world literally depended on his success. After his fifth year, Harry's vision of victory had changed. He didn't expect to survive his final encounter with the Dark Lord. As long as the world was rid of Voldemort's evil, Harry's mission was complete. He hadn't told anyone how he felt, he didn't want them to think he was giving up. Harry would never give up hope of surviving, but he stopped making career plans all the same.

"There you are! Are you ready to leave? Here, I picked up your books as well." Hermione slid several books off the top of the tower in her arms and began walking towards the front of the store. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

"Right. Hold on a minute" Sliding the book back on it's shelf, he caught up to her and followed her to the register.

After purchasing their books the three teens walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to set down the many packages they had accumulated over the course of the day. After an early dinner, they went up to Harry and Ron's room to talk. The boy's lively discussion on the upcoming Quidditch season was interspersed with comments from Hermione about early revision for the N.E.W.T.s and the duties she and Harry you share as Heads. Harry has declined Ron's offer to co-captain the Quidditch team by saying Ron would be brilliant on his own, and he didn't want to be bogged down with captain and Head boy responsibilities. Although he did an admirable job at hiding it, Ron's pleasure at not having to share the honor with the Boy-Who-Lived was visible.

"Well boys, since we'll have to be up early tomorrow to make the Express, I'm heading to bed. I would suggest you do the same." Bidding he two best friends goodnight, she slipped out the door to her own room.

A/N: If you like, or don't like how the story is going leave me a review and let me know your feelings!


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to Hermione's diligence (or nagging, depending on who you asked) the trio of friends made it to the barrier for Platform 9 and 3/4 with almost fifteen minutes to spare. As Hermione said goodbye to her parents on the muggle side, Harry and Ron slid through and met up the Weasleys to say their own farewells. Both of Ron's parents stood on the platform, waiting to say goodbye to their two youngest children and the boy they both thought of as one of their own. After administering a crushing hug to all three of the youths, she launched into a speech about the responsibilities of their age and status. As she was explaining to Ginny the finer points of precisely what is expected of a sixth year prefect, Ron caught sight of Hermione and the three attempted to escape.

"Herms! Over here!" Waving her over, the two Weasleys and Harry disentangled themselves from the redheaded witch and excused themselves, after promising to behave.

Once they had settled into a compartment towards the end of the train, they stuck their heads out the window and waved goodbye as the train rolled away from the platform. After everyone had changed into their school robes, the two Heads left to perform rounds leaving Ron and Ginny to keep each other company.

In a pleasant break from tradition, Draco Malfoy didn't stop by to harass them once during the ride. Although they managed to avoid Malfoy, Luna Lovegood dropped by the compartment to discuss her summer excursions with Ginny. In Ron's mind spending the train ride with Looney Lovegood was only a slight improvement over a run-in with Draco the ferret boy.

As the last first year took her place at the Ravenclaw house table Ron commented that this year's crop of Gryffindors, while large in number, seemed especially puny in stature. Just as Hermione opened her mouth in rebuke, Dumbledore stood up to give welcoming remarks. Effectively silenced, Hermione had to make do with a glare across the table. After the usual assortment of welcomes and warning (there were now 873 items on Filch's banned list), the headmaster introduced the year's defense professor. A thin man of average height introduced himself as Professor Gill. As he didn't seem to have any ties to the dark lord or Cornelius Fudge, he would probably be one of their better instructors. With the introductions and announcements complete, Dumbledore clapped his hands and the feast began.

After the last bite of treacle tart had been swallowed, Ron headed off to tell the older students the password into Gryffindor Tower (Godric's gobstones) and avoid a certain blond Ravenclaw who was headed for the table. Sharing an amused glance, Harry and Hermione rounded up the first years and gave them a quick tour of the castle, before showing them to the portrait hole. After making sure that the younger students made it to bed before lights out Hermione went back down to the Gryffindor common room to catch up with Lavender and Parvati. Although they were no longer roommates, Hermione didn't want to alienate herself from the other girls in the year. Harry stayed with the first years, making sure they were settling in OK. Once they had all drifted to sleep, he went downstairs to join his friends. Seeing Hermione occupied by Lavender and Parvati's chatter, Harry challenged Ron to a game of chess. While Harry lost spectacularly, the two boys talked about classes, quidditch and girls until it was time for Harry and Hermione to head to their own dorm.

The next morning, Harry woke up well before breakfast was due to begin. After a quick shower in the bathroom connecting his room to Hermione's he headed down to the common room they shared to find her sitting at a table in front of a small fire, with a copy of  Hogwarts, A History open in front of her. Bidding her good morning, Harry walked out the wall hanging hiding their quarters and over to Gryffindor tower. Stepping through the portrait hole, Harry was hit with a feeling of déjà vu. There in front of the fire was another small figure curled up with a book. Instead of bushy brown hair, this head was capped with curly blond locks. Recognizing Sam, one of the new first years, Harry sent her upstairs to wake her classmates so he could take them to breakfast and show them to their first class. He did the same after lunch and made sure that they all got back to the common room to start their homework that night.

Harry figured as the first years became accustomed to the castle and all its secret passages and moving staircases, they would no longer need him to walk him to classes. In fact quite the opposite happened. The next morning when he went over to the Tower to wake them up he found them already up and ready to head to the Great Hall. That day at lunch he found a couple of Hufflepuff first years among his flock. As he walked the students back after dinner he realized that he had students to drop off at both the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw dorms. By the end of the week, students from all four houses could be seen trailing after him in the corridors. By this time it was a running joke among the students and faculty. Head Girl Hermione took care of most of the duties and detentions while Harry took care of the first years.

The three friends quickly settled into their seventh year at Hogwarts. With classes came Quidditch practices and tutoring sessions, D.A. meetings and Potions essays. Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly became accustomed to their new positions within Gryffindor House and the school at large. Ron positively reveled in it.

While shoveling a third helping of roast chicken into his mouth the Monday after the start of term, Ron recounted the tale of a Ravenclaw fifth year that had approached him with a rather audacious proposition earlier that day.

"She's been making eyes at me all through lunch, but I didn't think nothing of it until she came at me in the Charms corridor." Spooning some mashed potatoes onto his plate he continued, "How would she even know about that stuff? I mean, she's younger than Ginny!" he sputtered.

Wiping a small fleck of mashed potato from her cheek, Hermione responded, "Well kids grow up quicker these days I suppose. Although I will have a talk with Susan. As prefect she should really try to reign in that sort of behaviour with the younger students"

Harry jumped in at this comment, "Not all the younger students are so…. mature. The first years are actually rather sweet."

"Of course you defend your firsties, they're too busy stalking you to cause mischief. They follow you about like little ducklings, all in a row" Ron laughed to himself, "In fact, I think that's what I'm calling them from now on." Calling down to the end of the table where they sat he yelled, "Hey firsties! You've been promoted. Now you're Harry's ducklings!" Receiving only confused looks from the younger students, Ron turned back to his friends. "Harry you should make them little hats to wear in the halls. Or have them quack to each other. Or-"

"Honestly Ron, that's quite enough. I think it's sweet that the first years are so attached to Harry. I wish the Head Boy had done the same for us when we were new to the school. It really helps to build unity within the Hogwarts community." Turning to her other best friend she continued, "Don't listen to him Harry. I think you're doing a wonderful job as Head Boy. "

"I never said he wasn't!" Ron answered hotly.

"And you! In the six years I've known you your table manners have gone from bad to worse. Really! You know, I'm glad the younger students have Harry to look up to or they might start to take after you, and then where would we be?"

"We'd be a school of damn fine Quidditch players that's what!" And with that Ron and Hermione were off in one of their infamous rows, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

As the three sat down in the common room that night to finish (or in some cases, start) their assignments, Ron and Hermione ended their bickering with a huffy "Fine!" from both parties. Over the sound of quills scratching on parchment, Harry's mind wandered to his ducklings. They had come to him for help and advice since the second day of classes. Even a couple of Slytherins had approached him. Not that he minded. He actually rather enjoyed looking after the younger students. 'Besides', he thought darkly, 'it will probably be the closest I get to looking after children of my own.' Smothering a sigh, he dipped his quill in the ink and began work on his essay for Transfiguration.

Later that night, after separating an amorous young couple while on rounds with Hermione, Harry wondered if he'd ever have anyone to snog after hours in a broom closet. It seemed quite diverting, if the sixth year Ravenclaws they had sent to bed were any indication. Not that he hadn't had plenty of offers, but Harry felt little attraction to the random witches who threw themselves at him. His circle of friends was a small one. True friends were a rare commodity when you were the Boy-Who-Lived and Harry guarded his privacy-and his heart- far to closely to let just anyone in. Adding that to the list of things he wouldn't have the chance to experience, he continued brooding

Hermione noted her best friend's silence. This was one the many changes in Harry the summer had wrought. While he had matured a great deal, he had also retreated further into himself. She became aware of the change when the three of them met in Diagon Alley the day before returning to Hogwarts. She had hoped he would snap out of it once he was back at the castle, surrounded by friends and familiarity but it didn't seem to be happening. Telling herself not to pry, Hermione resigned herself to a quiet tour of the school.

Author's Note: A special thank you to those of you who took the time to review. Your comments really mean a lot to me.


	5. Chapter 5

The days bled into weeks and still Hermione held her tongue. She had hoped, fervently, that the familiarity of Hogwarts and the presence of people who cared about him would be able to bring back the young man they had last seen at King's Cross last June. The return to his old self had yet to occur and Hermione was beginning to lose hope. As much as she loved and admired the newly mature Harry, she missed the carefree boy she had grown up with. Now instead of sneaking down to the kitchens for a hot chocolate he could be found sitting by the common room fire reading about defenses from Dark curses and studying wizarding wars and battles from times past. And while this seemed just how a young warrior should spend his spare time, it didn't seem right for the Harry she knew.

They hadn't talked much about the recent summer holidays, Hermione and Ron because they didn't want the third member of their group to feel left out and Harry for reasons unknown. Hermione's first course of action then in figuring out the new Harry before her, was figuring out what happened over the summer to cause the old Harry to go into hiding.

As they straightened up the Room of Requirement after the first D.A. meeting of the term, Hermione finally broached the topic.

"Harry, we've been back for nearly three weeks and you've said barely a word about your summer. How was it?"

"The usual. Dudley was out most of the time being a menace to general society and I was stuck doing chores and garden work most of the time. My summer in a nutshell." Harry was turned away from her, picking up the pillows they had been summoning during the meeting, so she was unable to read his face. Something in his voice, however, told her that he wasn't telling her the whole story.

"Well, what about your birthday? Did you get our gifts? And surely you must have been excited to be able to perform spell outside of Hogwarts."

Cracking a small smile, he responded, "Yeah, being able to use magic was pretty nice. I got my chores done much quicker and then I could use my free time to practice the new spells I had looked up for the D.A."

With thinly veiled exasperation, Hermione tried again, "No Harry, I don't want to talk about spells or duties or the D.A. What about _you_? What made you happy, what made you sad. What happened to _you_ over the summer. That's what I want to know. What are you hiding from us Harry? And why? What happened?" The desperation and hurt in her voice were unmistakable.

Across the room from her Harry turned to face her and slowly sunk to the floor. In one fluid motion Hermione was by his side. Wrapping her arms around his slender shoulders, she whispered "Oh Harry" as she held him close. She sat comforting him on the hard floor until Harry was ready to speak. Quietly he began to recount the events of his seventeenth birthday.

"At exactly midnight, two owls arrived at my window. The first had a form letter from the ministry stating that I was officially of age in the eyes of wizarding law and detailing the privileges and responsibilities that went with it. The second letter…. The second letter was from Gringotts. It informed me that I am now Lord of the House of Potter and Heir to the House of Black. The fortunes of both families had been transferred to my vault" At this his voice broke and Hermione felt him shaking as he tried to swallow the sobs in his throat. After regaining control, Harry continued, " The legacies of two eminent magical clans now rest on my shoulders. When I die the names of my father and godfather will be no more. It ends with me."

You're not going to die Harry" Hermione consoled him, " at least not right now. You have plenty of time to set this to rights. There's more than enough weight on your shoulders, don't take this on as well."

"I don't have a choice Hermione! This legacy is all I have left of my family. I won't let it die as well." A bitter laugh escaped him. "Ironic isn't it? I'm the head of an entire wizarding clan and Heir to another and yet I'm completely alone." Hanging his head, he studied the pattern of wood grain before him.

"You're not alone Harry. Don't you see? There are so many people in this world who love and care about you. Me, Ron, the Weasley's, Dumbledore, Hagrid, even your ducklings. You're surrounded by people who love and admire you Harry. I would do anything, _anything_, in my power to make your life better. And I'm sure the others would say the same. If I could take the tiniest bit of weight off your shoulders, I would gladly bear it myself." Tears obscured her view, but she recognized the look on her best friend's face; thankfulness tinged with disbelief. Even after all these years, he still had trouble believing he deserved the love and devotion he got from those closest to him. Hermione's heart broke anew and she held him to her chest as the tears slid down her face. After a few moments Harry raised his own tear stained face to look her in the eye.

"Thank you. Just knowing that you feel that way helps. But there's nothing you can do. You can't manipulate time to let me know my parents, you can't stop it to give me time to rest and enjoy my childhood, and you can't speed it up to let me raise a family of my own before I face Voldemort. Its not meant to be. I guess family is something I just wasn't intended to have." A long sigh escaped his lungs, "I accepted the rest of my destiny. In time I'll accept this as well"

"No Harry, don't give up. You're too wonderful a person to not have hopes and dreams to live for. You can have it. Your family's name will live on through you and after you're gone. We can do it. Please."

Sobbing, he locked eyes with the young woman before him. "How Hermione? Are you going to give me a family? Do plan on conjuring up a child for me to love? You can't. Don't worry yourself, this isn't your problem"

"Of course its my problem! You're my best friend." Tearing her eyes away from her best friend, she fell silent. Should she continue? Harry was being honest with her, didn't he deserve the same? She resolved to tell Harry the truth. She loved him. Whether he returned the feelings or not, he deserved to know how she felt. As she opened her mouth to say the words, something else entirely left her lips.

"I'll do it. I'll give you a family. A child. For you, I'll do it." What in Merlin's name had she just said? As soon as the words came flying from her mouth she realized the truth in them. She would gladly have Harry's baby. But it wasn't supposed to come out like that! As she mentally berated herself, Hermione's words slowly sunk in to Harry's psyche.

"Wha… what? You'll do what? You can't. I mean…what?"

"Harry think about it. You can have the family you long for. We can be that family. You, me…your child."

"I can't. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. How selfish would it be to bring a child into the world for my own gratification? Just so I could make up for losing my poor dead parents. I'd be doing the same thing to my son that my parents did to me. Dying for a noble cause and leaving my son to grow up without me. What kind of person would that make me? Not to mention you. I can't ask you to give up your body, put your life on hold just to give me something I don't even deserve! I can't ask you to give up everything you've worked for to become an incubator for my baby!" By now his face was red and his voice was hoarse with passion. Hermione responded with equal fervor.

"You didn't ask me! I offered. And I wouldn't have offered if I didn't think you'd make a wonderful father. I've seen you with the first years. You're caring, and patient and strong. If anyone deserves to know the love of a child its you Harry Potter. Let me do this for you. I want so much to give you this gift. Please."

"Hermione, I can-"

"Shh. Just think about it ok? Think of how great this could be." With those words came silence.

The quiet was both great and terrible. They both thought about what would happen if they had a child. The struggles and the hardships, the confusion and the complexity they would face as parents. But each teenager's train of thought ended with a tiny infant with green eyes and messy black curls.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and special thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your comments mean a lot to me and as a first time writer I really appreciate the feedback.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning found Hogwarts' Head Boy and Girl curled up on the hard floor of the Room of Requirement. Whether by subconscious demand or under the persuasion of the castle's magic, the room had reconfigured itself. Instead of the Room's usual setup for DA meetings, there were now 3 large bay windows facing east, allowing the morning sun to peek in on its occupants. Slowly, Harry opened his eyes. Feeling the cold floor beneath him he snuggled closer under the covers as he tried to get his bearings. As his mind sluggishly woke up he sat up with a start. His covers were moving! After retrieving his glasses from his trouser pocket _how'd they get there?_ he realized that the covers he had been clinging to were in fact a warm body. Specifically, the warm body of his best friend. _Well this is awkward. _ He thought to himself. As he tried to untangle himself from her sprawling limbs, he thoughts trailed back to the previous night. They must have fallen asleep talking after the DA meeting. Just as he was piecing together last night's conversation, he caught a glimpse of Hermione's watch and jumped to his feet.

They had slept through most of breakfast and had twenty-two minutes to shower and make it to greenhouse 3 for Herbology.

The head boy and girl made it to class with seconds to spare, but their disheveled appearance was enough to set certain tongues wagging. The dazed expression Harry carried for most of the day only added fuel to the fires. Everyone knew that something had happened between the two Heads but no one agree on what that something was. After their frenzied entrance to the greenhouse, the pair studiously avoided each other for the next three days. Harry spending more time out on the quidditch pitch or with his ducklings, Hermione holing herself up in the library and taking additional hall patrols.

By the third night even Ron was fed up with their behaviour and called a meeting for the three friends in the Heads common room.

Stalking back and forth in front of the fireplace, he muttered to himself as two sullen pairs of eyes followed his progress. "What the bloody hell is going on between you two?" he finally managed. Suddenly his expression cleared, as if a puzzle had finally resolved itself "Are you together? Did the pair of you shag and now things are awkward?" Before he could continue in this thread his two friends started and quickly moved away from each other on the small sofa.

"What? No!" Harry stuttered while Hermione just looked shyly at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap.

"No Ron, we didn't shag. After the DA meeting we had a slight difference of opinion and I was trying to give Harry some space to work it out." Harry looked over her incredulously.

"A difference of opinion? Hermione, this isn't s problem to be worked out. You know as well as I do that it will never happen." The anguish and sorrow in Harry's green eyes put the lie to his otherwise calm exterior. In a much softer tone he asked, "Why are you making this harder than it needs to be? Hope is the last thing I need right now. "

As his two best friends stared intently into each other's eyes, Ron decided his work there was done and quietly slipped out of the suite. Paying no heed to the red-head's silent departure, Hermione responded to Harry's question. "I'm not trying to make anything harder. I'm trying to give you a gift that you are too stubborn to take. I think hope is the only thing you need. Hope and love, to get you through this battle and give you a reason to come back to me—to us." Taking his hand in her own, trembling, grasp she waited for a response.

"Hermione, we're 17. Even if without the madman out to kill me, I have no business being a father. In fact I don't know which would be worse, leaving a baby to grow up fatherless or surviving and ruining some poor child's life by having him grow up as my son."

"Harry, you'll make a brilliant father. I know you want this, why won't you just accept?" An agonizing thought flashed through her mind just then. Perhaps the reason Harry refused wasn't that he didn't want a family, but that he didn't want one with her. As the idea flitted through her mind the words bubbled up to her lips. " Oh, umm…unless of course…I don't mean to pressure you…" as she stuttered an explanation, realization dawned on Harry.

"No! er…" he interrupted.

"I understand if you don't want me to be a part of…" she continued on

"Not at all…" he said, trying to assuage her

"I mean, I'm sure there are prettier…"

"There aren't." he said firmly, finally disrupting the stream of words pouring forth. "And I wouldn't want them anyway. They would do it to get close to the Chosen One, you're offering because you're already close to Harry." A soft smile graced his face. "It means more to me than you can imagine that you would offer, but we can't. You know we can't."

"Why not. We're both of age. I'm more than capable of handling this and I think it would be good for you."

"But what about you, Mione? This isn't just a one off, it doesn't just go away. When I face Riddle there's a good chance that you'll be a widow left to raise a child alone. You'd be giving up the rest of your life to just to make me happy."

"I'm not giving up my life. And even if it was- you're my best friend Harry, I'd do it anyway. I'd die for you, just as you would die for me. How is this any different?"

"Because I can't stop you from making that sacrifice but I can bloody well prevent you from doing this. I can stop you from throwing your life away for me."

"I'm not throwing my life away. This could be the start of a new life, a new family to help heal the hurt from the one that's been stolen from you." A small smirk slid across her face before she pulled out her last, long shot "Besides, if I'm pregnant or taking care of a baby that would keep me from the front lines of the war for at least a couple of years. Isn't that what you want?" she added with a hesitant smile.

Looking down at their intertwined hands Harry sighed, "I don't know what I want anymore." Thoughts and arguments raced through his mind as the pair sat silently in their private quarters.

More than anything he wanted to keep her safe from the war. Was this the way to do it? He had always been protective of her, the most important female in his life for six years running. Over the past few months those feelings of friendship, loyalty, and protection had grown in to an overwhelming need to have her in his life. Although unsure as to why, Harry knew that he needed her as far more than a best friend, he needed her to be safe and happy and part of his life. Here he was presented with a way to ensure all three. For once, could he be selfish enough to accept? Tentatively he asked her with hope shining in his eyes, "Would you really stay away from the fighting?"

The significance of the question was not lost on Hermione as she pondered her answer. Saying yes would allow him to believe he was doing it for her sake, instead of his own.

Realizing that though their reasons were different, the feelings behind them were the same, she responded with a silent nod.

"Are you sure? Three days isn't a lot of time to make a decision that will last you the rest of your life"

"I'm sure. I've been thinking of nothing else ever since I blurted it out Thursday night. I won't take it back."

AN: Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story over the long break. If not for support from reviewers I would have abandoned this story completly. Drop a line and tell me what you think! 


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